Sanford still saying 'no way' to stimulus bucks

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Last night at the Republican Governor's Association our Governor Mark Sanford said he'd reject "federal unemployment cash and funding for green buildings in the stimulus."

Read more stories on this subject in our stimulus package topic page.I could say why this political posturing is such a bad idea after the war was lost and the bill is passed, but I don't have to: Philip Klein at the conservative political magazine The American Spectator has done it for me. In regards to staunch opposition from Sanford and other Republican governors:

Here's the thing. Yes, in a folk hero sort of way, it would be great fun to see Republican governors refuse to accept the money. But on a practical level, I don't see how it makes any sense. The battle is over. The forces who want to spend more taxpayer money won. If every Republican governor refused to accept the stimulus money, it's not like Congress would go back and reduce the cost of the stimulus package by that amount. Taxpayers in South Carolina will be partially subsidizing all of the stimulus spending no matter whether they like it or not. So, they may as well get what they can out of the stimulus package, and try their best to spend the money as productively as possible.

But Howard Kurtz of The Washington Post says it's a non-issue and the governor's will -- ultimately -- take the money.

Let's hope.

Now, for the cherry on the top: Check out this political cartoon at The Post and Courier.

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